


new beginnings and starting over

by lifeisagoldenpoison



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adrien Agreste Never Went to Public School, Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe - College/University, Anti-Hero, Chat Blanc - Freeform, Enemies to Lovers, F/M, Future Fic, Gabriel Agreste is a terrible father, Kinda
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-24
Updated: 2021-01-26
Packaged: 2021-03-16 16:47:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,624
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28959711
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lifeisagoldenpoison/pseuds/lifeisagoldenpoison
Summary: Busy with being Ladybug, college, the bakery, her internship at Gabriel, and the ever-looming Paris Fashion Week, Marinette doesn’t have the time for sweet shenanigans with her boss’ newly-returned-from-college son. What will she do when after three years of Chat Noir, or Chat Blanc, really, going M.I.A., the once hero of Paris has returned? Will she be able to forgive him? Most importantly, will she be able to move on from him with Adrien Agreste?________a.k.a. the adrienette + chat blanc enemies to lovers fic that no one rly asked for.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Comments: 10
Kudos: 22





	1. Chapter 1

The night they met, he asked her what her biggest secret is. The music was drumming in their ears and it seems that the most it would be willing to allow is them to know only the other’s name, yet she heard his 4th question loud and clear like he just used a speaker in the middle of a desert. 

“What’s your biggest secret?” he asked groggily, complimented with a cockiness in his eyes and a half-drunk smile on his lips that told Marinette that he wanted someone to ask him the same thing. Like he came here to escape. That wouldn’t be exactly new. Many people go to bars either to have fun or to just pretend like the outside world didn’t exist even for a little while. 

What startled Marinette, though, is that it was Adrien Agreste in front of him. Supermodel son of fashion giant Gabriel Agreste, and an overall seemingly perfect person, with his many privileges Marinette couldn’t dare to fathom, his education, his connections, and the complex simplicity of his charming smile that reaches up to his eyes even if the corners of his lips are barely pulled up. One look at him, and you’d think that you’d just laid your eyes on the most beautiful man on the planet, and you’d feel guilty and look away because it felt illegal to see such beauty. It wasn’t just his physical appearance that makes him attractive; his natural and genuine charisma that shines through is what makes him a living god to some. 

But right now, in a not very five-star bar, Marinette sat across a very human, very vulnerable Adrien Agreste.

“Wh-what?” she asked him. 

He took a sip of his drink, turned to her, and asked her again. “What’s your biggest secret?”

Marinette collected herself, thinking. “Huh, I don’t really know, if I’m being honest.” She knew perfectly well what her answer is. It’s been the same one for more than five years. But even that is too big just to share to anyone. Even if it is the son of her idol. “Um, I trace my previous designs for my projects sometimes. So I’m basically plagiarizing from myself,” she added. 

Adrien chuckled. “Come on, you have to tell me something bigger than that.” There it is again. That damned smile that makes both girls and boys weak in the knees, and if Marinette wasn’t sitting right now, she most definitely would’ve buckled the first sentence into their conversation. 

“Hey cut me some slack, it’s been a long day,” she replied. “What about you, huh? What’s Mr. Famous’ biggest secret?”

“Sometimes I wish I wasn’t living my life,” he said quickly, way too quickly for Marinette’s liking. The smile on her face dropped just as quickly, too. 

“Well now I feel guilty for saying my answer,” she replied, trying to light up the mood. It didn’t seem to work to the extent that she wanted it to, as Adrien just looked at her and lifted the corner of his mouth slightly. Marinette shifted in her seat. “Alright, my turn to ask a question. What is something you’re grateful about?”

That made him think. What in his life is he truly grateful about? His soulless luxurious apartment? His easy passes in events he doesn’t want to go to? His travels for work? Yeah, sure. All great things, don’t get him wrong. He knows some would kill for the things that he has, and he’s grateful for them, truly. But Adrien isn’t exactly the materialistic type. He craves the more abstract things like experience, intellect, and love. Romantic, platonic, familial, it doesn’t matter. Love, as intense and playful as it is, is love. And when you’re loved, you’re cared for, and you’re supported, and you’re not ignored. 

“I guess, I’d say that I’m grateful for her,” Adrien finally answered.

So, someone had finally stolen the heart of Paris’ most eligible bachelor. To say it didn’t hurt Marinette even a little, would be to lie. Hey, you can’t really blame her. When someone as dedicated and passionate about fashion that they spend hours and hours on end looking at magazines and Adrien’s face popping up in almost everyone of them, it’s basically impossible to not develop even a slight crush on him. 

“Well, if you weren’t living your life right now, then you wouldn’t have met her.” She had no idea who the girl Adrien is even talking about, but the way he referred to her in that single sentence as if he’d risk his life for her said everything that Marinette needed to know. 

Adrien just looked at her strangely. Marinette couldn’t exactly tell what he’s feeling, but she knows that the gears in his head are turning. She can see it in his furrowed brows, tiny frown, and concentrated gaze alone. She waited for him, still. 

“Good point,” was all he said and took another sip of his drink. 

For a few seconds, there was an uncomfortable silence lingering in the thin air of the crowded bar. Marinette let her eyes wander around those few seconds looking for her friend, until settling on the blond boy sitting next to her again. Like before, her gaze is caught in the trap of Adrien’s enticing aura.

“You know everyone feels that way from time to time,” she starts, unable to stand the silence any longer. “Sometimes for a long time, sometimes for just a millisecond. But that doesn’t make them any less irrelevant. My advice, think of all the bad things-“

“How is that going to help?” Adrien interrupted, a little harsher than he intended. 

Marinette just gave him a look and continued. “Think of all the bad things. Let yourself feel them. Get to know them, then think of the good things. Let yourself feel those too. And think. Then you’d realize that you never would have experienced all the best memories that you have if you hadn’t experienced all the bad ones too and if you aren’t living the life you’re living now.“ She leaned away from him and looked at her drink. “At least, that’s what I do.”

Another silence. But this time, Adrien’s focus was solely on the girl next to her and not his drink. Out of all the things he expected from going to drink in a very public place instead of in his apartment, he did not expect to get a taste of free therapy. But hey, with how things are going in his life, he’ll take it with open arms. The only thing is, is that now he doesn’t know how to respond. “Thanks,” was his genius reply. “So ummm, what’d you wanna do after college?”

“Hmm?” Marinette looks at him surprised that he still wanted to talk to her. “Oh, um, I’m hoping to work in the fashion industry, actually,” finally processing what he said. “You?”

“I don’t know yet, surprisingly.” Adrien just shrugs. He doesn’t know, truly. Even with all the opportunities already in his plate served with an elegant plating, he doesn’t feel like he could follow through any of them. He’s already in business school, preparing to success his father, and mainly just to please him even despite their oh so loving relationship they have where they only talk when it’s for business. Modeling, he grew to love over time, being his excuse to be as far away from his father as he could from time to time. And as for him being Chat Noir, well, he knows that it’s not a lifetime thing, and he already messed that up.

He hasn’t been Chat Noir in almost three years. He had transformed from time to time, but never the same-old Chat Noir fighting side by side with Ladybug. Hell, even that, he screwed up in when he spent his last 2 weeks and 4 days of being in Paris as Chat Blanc fighting against Ladybug. But now, being back home, if could even claim it that, he’s determined to make things right again with Ladybug. He just needs a little bit more push from alcohol tonight before he does anything stupid in the days that he’s here.

Before Marinette could say something back, someone tapped on her shoulder. They both look back to see a boy in a simple blue t-shirt and headphones around his neck. With him, was a very drunk and giggling Alya that he’s struggling to hold up. “Hey, Marinette? Sorry to disturb you, but I think it’s time for Alya to go home, she already threw up twice in the restroom.” So that was where she was. 

“Yeah, I better go take Alya home. Thanks Nino,” she said and turned to Adrien. “I guess this is goodbye for now, huh?”

“I guess so,” was all he said and gave her one of his dashing smiles. “Thanks, again, for the talk. I hope to see you again sometime.” 

Marinette just returned his smiled and left carrying a delirious Alya. On her way out, she heard the two boys they left conversing. 

“Oh. Uh, hey dude! I’m Nino.” He smiled and introduced himself when he noticed Adrien. 

“Hi, I’m Adrien,” he said with his bright smile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! So like, this is my first fic idk if u cant tell by my horrendous writing, but yea. Hope u enjoyed or even just found average idk. Have a great day/night!!!!!


	2. Chapter 2

Adrien messed up. That part was obvious. Why wouldn’t it be when he was dangling off of the Eiffel Tower. All because a goddamn akuma got way over themselves and thought they could seize all of the power or something like that. In the akuma’s mind, to do that, he had to threaten Ladybug by throwing newly returned Paris’ heartthrob off of a tower for everyone to watch, naturally. He really should’ve taken the car instead of walking.

He looks over to Ladybug across the opposite side of the tower. Confidence and wit was still oozing off of her. You can see it in her stance: her puffed up chest, her raised chin, and even in her slightly furrowed brows. Although, as time does to everything and everyone, it wasn’t the same Ladybug Adrien knew. Her outfit has changed, that was the most obvious part. It was more streamlined and mature. There were solid shapes of black at the sides of her hips that meets near bellow her belly and ends at the middle of her thighs, quite resembling a pair of shorts. Her hair wasn’t in those iconic pigtails anymore. It was in a low braid, and it was longer too. There were more changes in her, changes that are deeper and goes way beyond her physical appearance. Changes that he couldn’t quite point out, but he’s sure it’s there, hiding behind her fierce gaze. 

But unfortunately, he didn’t have time to dwell on that. Not when the akuma’s starting to loosen his grip of his wrists. Any looser, and he’d fall and be squashed like a pancake. Though he was sure cats always land on their feet, with this high of a fall, he definitely did not want to test it. Even he did, he can’t. He was sure the moment he transformed, the people would fear him, even if he’ll don the black suit. Besides, it’ll most likely shock Ladybug and cause the rift between them to widen even more. 

The wind blew the hair out of his face, yet the only thing he saw were blurs of color as he fell. His breakfast— if you could even call a single slice of toasted bread and latte that— rode up to his esophagus, his heart wanting to break out his ribcage, and his brain out of his skull. If he had thought he had a head-splitting headache when he woke up, now he’s sure one-hit Hephaestus himself did the honor of hitting it with an axe and proceeded to chop it up a couple more times and put it in a grinder for extra measure. He could barely hear the screams of someone as the wind becomes deafening to his ears. All he could do is think about all the regrets and mistakes in his life: siding with his father, spending his last weeks of being Chat as Chat Blanc, hurting her. His tears couldn’t even get past his eyes because he’d already cried too much of it.

The scream came from none other than Ladybug herself. Her eyes, on the contrary, are welling up with tears. After what seemed to be the final battle between them and Hawkmoth, and after he left, the akumas has lowered in frequency and in fatality. In the three years following, she never once encountered an akuma that seriously threatened a human’s life.

Naturally, it had made balancing her lives as Marinette Dupain-Cheng, fashion student, aspiring fashion designer, part-time baker, and as Ladybug, the coveted hero of Paris, much more easier. Unfortunately, because of the ease, having another person’s life in your hands has became heavier and made the pressure much bigger.

But she’s not going to let a single tear escape. Not when she still has something to say about it. In a quick flash, she used her lucky charm, a fish hook, to hook open the shield-looking front metal piece of the akuma’s suit which caused it to malfunction and reveal the black butterfly. Wrapping her yo-yo around the metal tentacles holding him up, sliding under, then wrapping them to the tower itself, she races down to try and catch Adrien, tripping the akuma while doing so. The moment her finger grazed his, then her hand grabbing his own, Ladybug’s tear mischievously slipped out. Slowly, she brings them down until Adrien’s feet touched the ground. 

Adrien waited for his demise, but it never came. Instead of death’s empty ghoulish eyes, he was met with his own lifeline’s bluebell ones. Here he is once again after what felt like a century of waiting to see her and look her in the eyes once more. All the years of regret started coming back. All the sleepless nights he spent dwelling on the memories of golden roads not taken and the pain of hurting his Lady, and by extension his own soul. All of them enough to restart his once dried tear ducts. Before he could say anything, Ladybug flew up again and purified the akuma. 

The seconds after she says the iconic “bye-bye little akuma” felt empty. What once was moments of relief and joy and life, was replaced with a few seconds void of any warm emotion. He should’ve been up there with her, bumping their fists and saying “pound it” after she uses her powers of creation to restore the damage made. Even when the cluster of ladybugs flew by him, he just felt lonely and not energized like before. Had she really lived three years of fighting akumas with this emptiness? If before he related fighting akumas to fencing, an enjoyable necessity, he’d say it’s more similar to doing a cleaning your room after a week now. 

Ladybug finally set foot on the ground next to Adrien. She was a whole head and three more inches shorter than him, he noticed. As opposed to before when he can freely rest his chin on top of her head. Not that he did, but he could if Ladybug would allow it. It seems that he changed too.

“Are you okay?” she asked, worry and concern coating every inch of her voice. 

“Yeah. Thanks to you,” he said. He shifted his weight on his right foot then his left then right again. “What about you, are you okay?”

Ladybug did not expect that. Out of all the years of doing what she does, she doesn’t think anyone has ever asked if she was okay after. The only person who ever did is gone from her life now. “Oh, um, I’m good, thanks.” 

She pursed her lips and her eyes wandered to anywhere but the boy in front of her. Thankfully, she was saved by his phone’s notification sound. Pulling his phone out of his pocket, he looked at it and turned his head to look until it settled on a black car with a rather large man standing in front of it.

Looking to Ladybug again in hopes of remembering every feature of her face. He looks at her eyes that seemed to have darkened over time. He notices her more pronounced freckles. He notices that her cheekbones are the tiniest bit less round and a little bit more defined along with her jaw. Yet all these changes seemed to do is make Adrien’s heart beat faster.

He looks back at the car then back to her. “Looks like my ride is waiting for me. Thank you, really,” he said before basically speed walking to the car to escape her lingering gaze.

Adrien takes his remaining sweet time of five minutes to just think mindlessly. That is, until he heard a small “psst” coming from the pocket of his shearling-lined leather jacket. Without a single second to waste, Plagg came out of his hiding spot and did what he does best: tease him. “So, you finally get to see her again, huh?”

Adrien just gave him a look. The partition between the front seat and the back was rolled up anyways so Gorilla couldn’t really see what he was doing, but he told Plagg to quiet to his voice just in case. 

“She’s so different now. More independent too, it seemed. She doesn’t need me anymore. Not that she ever did.” Adrien’s voice was hushed and turned into a whisper when he said the last part.

Seeing the deep frown on his face and his furrowed brows, Plagg didn’t exactly know what to say, so he just hugged Adrien in the way a small creature like him could. Adrien released a deep sigh and held Plagg in his hands, staying like that for the remainder of the car ride. 

When they reached the doors of his former house, he really couldn’t call it a home anymore, Plagg took his place inside his jacket and Adrien tried his best to look as presentable as he could. He looked at his shoelaces, then remembering that he slipped on his black loafers that morning. He adjusted his jacket a couple more times, pulled it down, then the sleeves, then pulled the collar up delicately.

Walking towards the front doors and inside the house, he comes to agree to everyone else. Going back to a place you were once familiar with, no matter how big it was, it will feel so small to you. Unlike the girl in the red and black suit earlier, the mansion is still as cold as ever. Perhaps a tiny bit colder, if such a thing is possible.

Nathalie, his father’s assistant even after all these years, came up to him. “I heard what happened with the akuma earlier, are you alright?” Nathalie, although distant, still acted as sort of a mother to Adrien. She may not be the warmest person he knows, but she was still there to keep track on him and worry about him. It was Nathalie too who had held his crying body that one night years ago. It was her who supported his decision to end his time as Chat Blanc. Adrien was sure that if it wasn’t for Nathalie, Adrien would be completely cut off of his father’s will, finances, and maybe disowned at most.

“I’m alright, Nathalie. Didn’t even get a scratch,” he said and smiled at her. “It’s great to see you again.”

“You too Adrien. Now,” he could tell she’s switching gears to her extremely professional assistant mode with the way she straightens her back, raises her chin, moves her glasses higher, and looks down at her tablet. “Your father has been waiting for a few minutes now, and it’s best not to keep him waiting any longer.”

She opened the door to let him in. His father didn’t even bother for pleasantries. “I sent Gorilla to come get you this morning, and you refused, now look where you ended up.” Adrien wanted to retaliate and point out that it was his akuma but he held his tongue. He wanted to say to his face that the reason why he wanted to walk was so he could procrastinate on seeing him and talking to him. 

“I wanted to enjoy the early morning breeze,” he replied, straight-faced. His father only glared at him with his steely grey eyes. The wrinkles around it hasn’t changed much, which is to be expected from an man who is known for having a permanent frown glued to his face.

“Tomorrow there will be a board meeting to further discuss the happenings of the nearing Paris Fashion Week and as the successor of this company you are expected to show. Be on your best behavior and listen. This will be your first official meeting. This will set the expectations of you and let the heads acquire a clear impression of you as a leader. During the nine days of fashion week, you’ll still walk the runway, do photoshoots, and be present as a fit model, with the addition of corporate tasks. At the very end of fashion week, there will be a masquerade ball held to raise money for orphanages. Nathalie will provide you with a flexible paradigm of your schedule. That will be all.”

All of those things he said without stuttering and without the expected welcoming tone from a father to his son. He said it like a stereotypical emotionless and unsympathetic boss talking to his employees, which in a way he is. Adrien doesn’t think that his father had even once mentioned his name while he was gone. Collecting his calm, Adrien did not utter a single word when inconspicuously storming out of the room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yep, you read that right, a single fashion week in the major cities is nine days long. And they’re all back to back too, so fashion week isn’t exactly a week, it’s more like a month. (That also doesn’t include the three-day haute couture week and the separate women and men’s.) 😬😬😬 Oh well, no one really said that the fashion industry is fair nor perfect.


End file.
